


that thing with feathers

by TheSleepingKnight



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Parahumans Series - Wildbow
Genre: Batfamily, Crossover, DC Comics Rebirth, F/F, F/M, M/M, Pick and Choose Your Canon, Pre-New 52
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:54:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23489404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSleepingKnight/pseuds/TheSleepingKnight
Summary: There's a moment in which Timothy Drake-Wayne slows, and asks himself where his knowledge of how to build self-healing towers comes from. Everything that comes after is more or less his fault.
Relationships: Stephanie Brown/Cassandra Cain
Comments: 7
Kudos: 46





	1. Chapter 1

Tim can't really identify the moment when it happens. He's in The Zone, as Jason calls it (Jason has a lot of nicknames for things. Like Steph. It’s one of the many things they share. He wonders if it’s because they’re both Gotham, born and raised, or if that’s just one of the things that happen to the Robins who die.) Lost in the flurry of creation, the fever dream rush making something impossible. Letting his brain move his body without conscious thought getting in the way, and instead thinking about what came _next._ Which tools he’d need to grab next, which operating system he’d have to install on the computer to regulate the speed of the self-repairing system, exactly how to temper the glass so that he could make them shatter-resistant (because in the world he lived in, nothing is ever shatter- _proof._ )

And then, his hands along with the hands of the clock stop, as a single thought burns through his mind:

_How do I know how to do this?_

For a moment, he just _sits_ there, in the husk of a half-built tower, 3 a.m. and running on adrenaline and coffee and a _dream_. A dream of a crime-fighting _family,_ of a safe Gotham, of a protected world. And he looks at the source of his pride and joy of the recent months, and realizes he doesn’t recognize it.

And then he just panics.

* * *

Tim had never really been one much for bragging. But he was smart. He _knew_ that. Sometimes, it was the only thing he had going for him. He’d learned how to think his way around problems from a young age, learned that being the smartest guy in the room came with advantages he desperately needed.

And then he’d met Batman, and he’d made every effort to get _smarter._ He studied, he trained, he memorized every villain and every strategy. He made special note of the scientist who’d gone bad, but whose technology could theoretically be used for good, and had taken any spare moment he could to examine and maybe even reverse-engineer the tech. Some of it just seemed like nonsense to him, but some of it—some of it made sense. Still, his more fantastical inventions had been curbed off of someone else's notes, and they always had a tendency to either self-destruct or simply become unusable after a few unexpected field tests. He hadn’t really tried building anything that was truly his _own_ until he’d become Red Robin proper, and he created his own Cave, and then… the Belfry. His passion project. Bruce, _finally_ letting him realize his dream of a more efficient and organized crime fighting system…

But now he could barely even think about continuing the Belfry. He had to make sure he wasn’t contaminated first.

_People don’t just wake up knowing how to build things like this. Curbing off of other madmen and Bruce’s notes is one thing. Knowing how to create self-healing structures is another._

Something similar had happened to Lex Luthor once, hadn’t it? The megalomaniac had suddenly gotten stronger, faster, _smarter,_ and hadn’t even realized that Brainiac was growing inside of him like a tumor until it overtook him completely. Tim can’t risk it. He has to make _sure._

He begins with trying to discover any other possible symptoms. He has a headache, but that’s pretty normal. He wouldn’t know how to feel if he _didn't_ have a headache. Aside from the increased intelligence, nothing seemed different from when his last physical check-up was done. He isn’t magically stronger or faster to any degree that he could see. His bones weren’t thicker or more durable (he tested that by having a sparring robot punch him), he didn’t react faster (he also tested that via a sparring robot punching him), and he couldn’t access any kind of superpowers, even under apparent threat (he’s really going to need some ice for that.) And thanks to the bruises, he could confirm the lack of any accelerated healing. So, his body wasn’t any different, at least at a first, second, and third glance. X-rays of the body didn’t show anything abnormal either (although this thing was in his _head,_ so could he really trust anything he was seeing?)

So...onto the brain. Even as he programs the MRI to run itself, he knows that the actually _smart_ thing to do would be to call Bruce. Or Alfred. Or Steph. Or anyone, really. Even as he makes excuses about containing any possible contamination (because he’s been around the others for months as he built the Belfry, if he was contaminated they all were), he thinks about how the others would be able to run tests without having to worry about altered realities or thought suppression (even now, he can’t exactly outline the process of how the building repairs itself, he just knows that it _can.)_

He stops stalling and gets in the MRI machine.

While he does his best to stay very, very still (which he does very, very well, you can’t do stakeouts without learning self-control), he thinks about what happens next: if the test comes back and he sees...anything, then what? Does he stop? Place himself under quarantine? Who would finish building The Belfry, and the rest of the Nests? If he managed to shut off whatever had gotten inside of him, _would_ he be able to finish building the Belfry and the Nests?

Would he be able to continue being Red Robin? His throat closes up as his horrid imagination runs wild, picturing all of the different ways he could be barred from the suit, barred from the family, barred from The Mission.

He drifts in waking day-mares until he realizes the test is over. The air feels different, getting out of the machine—he can’t get enough of it. His head is light and racing with worst-case scenarios, as his fingers drift across the computer, the smallest of shakes getting through his firewalls of training.

And then everything stops as the computer highlights an unknown growth in his brain, right between his frontal and parietal lobes, barely two inches wide. The warning on the screen flashes red, bright as blood, burning through his retinas and permanently etching itself in his memory:

_WARNING: UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT._


	2. How to Hide Your New Brain Growth, by Timothy Drake-Wayne

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim tries to hide things from his family of detectives. (It's as easy and as hard as you'd think.)

Tim doesn’t tell anyone. He will. He _will_ , just… not right now. He needed more time to study. To learn about exactly what was inside his head, figure out the best way to control the information flow…

Being CEO of Wayne Enterprises for a brief stint had taught Tim a lot about information control. How you could spin a failure into a success, so long as you leaked the right pieces of the story at the right time, assembled a narrative out of order. If he told anyone _now,_ he’d be in a cell (and out of his suit) faster than he could blink, and the city (he) _needed_ The Belfry. The Knights program. He’d made so much progress already, and just leaving it half-constructed would be _dangerous._ The systems here were wired into the Batcave, he couldn’t leave it unfinished or unguarded.

So… he keeps his mouth shut. Keeping secrets from a family of crime-fighters isn’t easy. If he just shuts down and avoids everyone… well, that _is_ actually an option, given… given. He and Bruce were at least on speaking terms again, even if only on a _you’re my partner and I need you to build a highly advanced tower to function as a new Batcave in the heart of Gotham_ level. They— they hadn’t talked about _it._ He hadn’t killed Captain Boomerang. He wasn’t _going_ to kill Captain Boomerang. He hadn’t done anything wrong— he’d thought about it, but (he wants to spit in Bruce’s eye about exactly what _he_ would do if the man who killed his father was out on the streets, killing again) he hadn’t actually _done_ anything. That didn’t make him a bad person (right? Someone tell him. He doesn’t know. Bruce has a way of shaking him down to his core.)

So ignoring Bruce is an option, but the rest of the family not so much. Steph, bless her heart, probably wouldn’t notice, given how often she and Cass were hanging out, now that Cass had finally returned from her self-imposed exile. Oh, and they were dating. Despite what Dick (and Jason. And Damian. And— wow, lots of people thought he would be an ass about this) had said, he didn’t really have any bitterness about it. He and Steph hadn’t worked out for a variety of reasons, and they’d both changed… a lot. Being Batgirl has brought out that spark he’d always seen inside of her. And she couldn’t be any safer, then with Cass by her side (seventy-one days. Tim left and then Stephanie died in _seventy-one days_ and it was his fault. He might as well have pulled the trigger himself.)

Besides. Not like he had time for relationships right now anyway.

So, he can avoid Steph and Bruce completely, for a while. Dick and Jason are off doing their own thing, Dick’s thing being Bludhaven, and Jason… well, none of the family save Bruce kept too close of an eye on Jason for personal reasons. He— he’s _trying,_ at least. That’s all Tim asks of him, and for the most part, he’d held to the rules. (Mostly. He’d heard the rumors. They all had.)

Damian is off with the Titans (which is fine. He doesn’t care. He doesn’t— ), and the thought of the little demon _wanting_ to see him is… well, it intensifies his headache.

And that leaves Barbara, and since avoiding Barbara entirely would require Tim to pick up shop and move somewhere without anything remotely resembling tech, that’s not a valid option. So, that’s why he answers the phone when she calls. He’d been meaning to talk to her anyway, about… well, the procedure.

“ _Hey, Tim.”_ Something that always knocks the wind out of him, a little, is how _tired_ she sounds. She’s only 29 (he’s only nineteen. God help him, he’s only _nineteen_ ), but has the voice of someone so much older and wearier. In a way she sounds like Bruce. It’s not meant to be a flattering comparison.

“Hello, Barbara,” he says, sliding under a computer, trying his best not to think about how his hands just went on autopilot (how much control did he still have?) “How’re things at the university?”

“ _Same old. Some kids care, some don’t. I don’t waste much time on the latter. How’s the Belfry going?”_

“Like you don’t already know.” Tim scoffs. “I don’t think I could keep you out even if I wanted to. Between us, you’re the better hacker.” “ _Mm. It took me at least a week to get into your little Nest, so you’ve definitely improved.”_ Tim shakes his head, and for a moment wonders if Barbara is watching him _right now._ “Privacy is a thing of the past, huh?” _“Oh, don’t be so dramatic. I only check up on you to make sure you’re eating enough. Not like I’m watching you shower.”_

There’s a joke that comes to mind about Dick. He doesn’t say it.

“Well, that’s good. Otherwise I’d be more than a little perturbed.”   
  
“ _Hm.”_

“So.” Tim starts, with no idea where he’s going, “How’s…” “ _How’s physical therapy going?”_ Barbara drawls.

“I wasn’t gonna say that.”

“ _Yes, you were. And for the record, I’m fine.”_

Yeah. Sure. ‘Cause any of them were _fine._ “Just wanted to make sure everything went smoothly. You know we can’t trust Lex.”

“ _Of course not. But Bruce and Clark both triple-checked me to death: he didn’t sneak anything during the procedure. And I’m on track. It’ll take some time, and I won’t ever quite be the same, but… yeah. I’ll be on my feet again.”_

“Hm. Have you thought about what happens after that?” “ _If you’re asking as to whether or not I’ll be putting the suit back on, the answer is no.”_ Tim nearly bangs his head against the console in surprise.

“But— I thought—”

“ _Tim,”_ Barabara says, and the memories are evident in her voice, “ _I know what being Red Robin means to you. And what being Batgirl means to Stephanie. And I remember what it was like, being in the suit, and I’d be lying if I didn’t miss it.”_

“But…”

“ _But… I’m not who I was, Tim. As much as no one likes to say it, I’ve changed. Batgirl… Batgirl is an idea. Like Robin, Like Batman. And she’s given to whoever needs her. Cass needed Batgirl to help convince her that she was good, that she had a family. Stephanie needed it to convince herself that she was **good enough.** And that she didn’t need anyone else’s approval. I don’t need anything from Batgirl, anymore. I became something else. I can’t go back.” _A sigh flows out of the phone, and with the slight peak of static, Tim could hear Barbara desperately trying to not feel anything. “ _Besides. I think I’ve rather outgrown the suit, anyway.”_

“Well… if that’s how you feel.”

“ _It is. I need to go.”_

“Duty calls?”

“ _As always. See you later, Tim.”_

The line disconnects, and Tim is alone again. With a finished supercomputer. He takes off the brain scanner he’d been wearing and marches over to the computer, and _yep—_ whenever he’s _building_ something, the still unidentified growth lit up like a Christmas tree. Now, time to check the computer’s everything for any traces of foreign code…

* * *

Nothing. Big fat nothing. Every test, every experiment he ran alongside construction of the Belfry indicated that the new powers didn’t come with any kind of malware.

Tim refused to believe that. There was no such thing as a free lunch. There had to be _something._ Some secret, hidden inside a two-inch shard…

“TIM YOU ASSHOLE!”

A blur of purple slams into him, and Tim spins with the force, laughing.

“Hey, Steph.” She disengages from the hug and pokes him firmly in the chest.

“Two weeks! You haven’t so much as texted me for two weeks! I began to worry that you’d been kidnapped again or something!”

“It’s really depressing that you had to attach _again_ to that sentence.” Tim mutters, idly counting all the times _that_ had happened.

“ _God,_ is it. We should do a poll of how many people have been kidnapped more than once in Gotham.”

“As Tim Wayne and Stephanie Brown, or Red Robin and Batgirl?” Steph snorts at the question.

“Can you imagine people’s reaction to two of the Bats shoving questionnaires in their faces? Honestly it would be worth it for the laugh alone.”

“Bruce would never let us do it.” Tim sighs. 

“Yeah, well…” Steph shrugs. “Who needs him?”

“Steph!”

“What? He was _dead_ when I picked up the Batgirl suit, and that didn’t stop me.” Tim puts a hand in his face to cover up the flash of panic. Bruce is alive and well, there’s no reason to get all wigged out, he’s _fine._

“I still can’t believe you were running around in Cass’s old suit.” He grumbles through his hands. “And that it only took you a few weeks to wreck it.”

“It worked! ...mostly. She says thanks for the new one, by the way.”

“How are the new suits treating you two?” He asks.

“Oh, they’re great! Was time for an update, anyway.” She twirls, admiring the lightweight fabrics and armor. “The mouthguard is nice. Kind of missed that from being Spoiler.”

“Well, we all keep getting punched in the face, so I thought it was time to put _something_ there." Tim shrugs. "Jason had the right idea: full helmets would be a lot safer. And would cost less in tooth replacements."

“Yeah, but— we _need_ to show we’re human.” Steph says, stretching slightly. “I know Bruce and Cass like their whole _I am vengeance, I am the night_ thing, but civilians need a way of connecting with us. Something to ground us as being on their side. If we go full-face masks, we lose that human angle, and people start seeing automatons, not heroes, and that’s how we lose Gotham’s trust.” And this is why Tim was so glad that Steph had been officially invited into the family: she had a way of looking at things that really only Dick shared, and the two of them were a much needed reprieve from the rest of the Bats.

“Point well-made.” He chuckled. “Clearly, only one of us went to college.”

“I _still_ can’t believe you dropped out of highschool.”

“Well, the world was ending.”

“So it was Tuesday?”

Laughter lights up the Belfry, and for once, Tim doesn’t feel disgusted by (himself) his creation.

* * *

Steph has to go— duty always calls, and Tim is still working. At least, he is until a signal comes in, straight from the Cave, and as much as he’s dreading it, he answers the call. Even as he rolls in through one of the entrances on his motorcycle, he can see that he wasn’t the only one called: Babs, Steph, Cass, and even Dick were already there, chatting around the meeting table, waving to him as he shut off the electric engine and joined the group. “Hey, little bird.” Dick pulls him into a hug. “How’s it been, being the big man’s construction team?”   
  
“The Belfry should be ready any day now,” Tim reports, leaning into the hug. It’s unfair how good his eldest brother is at giving them. “And it’s been fine.”

“Just remember to call me, Timmers. I miss you.” The words wrap around Tim’s throat with a fist made of shame and _squeezes._

“Yeah, I miss you too.” he gets out, before a shadow pulls him into another hug. “Hey, Cass.”

“Brother,” she says, simply. There’s no need to elaborate. Despite her progress, she still struggles with language, but between them, words are almost unnecessary. 

“I’m so glad you’re home.” Tim says.

“Trip… enlightening. But belong here.” She pulls away, and squints at him. “Need sleep.” She reprimands, poking his chest in much the same way Steph does (he wonders which one learned it from each other.)

“Don’t we all?” Her frown grows, and he puts up his hands in a surrender. “Okay, Okay. I promise I’ll try and catch some more sleep.”

“Better,” she threatens. “Know where you live.” And isn’t _that_ just terrifying. He would have loved for that little moment to have gone on forever, but then Batman speaks.

“Everyone. Thank you for coming.” They all turn to look at him, lit by the light of the monitors, a shadow brought to life. “We’re here to discuss options going forwards.

“Is this about Inc?” Dick asks, stepping forwards. “Are we compromised, or…”

“Inc is secure, as are our identities,” Batman assures. “But we _are_ compromised. And now we need to figure out how we’re going to address that.”

“Address _what,_ Bruce?” Babs demands, but the worst of Tim’s imagination has already ran wild, and—

“Tim. Show them.” He can’t breathe. He can’t even _think._ ( _heknowsheknowsheknowsheknows)_

“Show us _what,_ Tim?” Stephanie asks. Swallow. Breathe. In… and out. Still his hands. He can’t do this right now, not in front of them.

“Is this about the Belfry?” he asks, even though he knows it isn’t. Batman just stares at him, and then moves to a touchpad, tapping on it.

Tim’s brain scan flashes, bright and clear, across the main monitor.

“Four weeks ago, Tim ran an impromptu brainscan, and found an alien growth inside of him. The results were automatically wired to me, as are all Bat-Family test results.” Fuck.

“Immediately after receiving this, I asked myself how this had happened, and if it was an isolated incident. So I ran my own tests.”

“Bruce, please tell me you’re not going where I think you are,” Stephanie’s face is grim.

Bruce taps the touchscreen again, and different brain scans pop up. Specifically, scans of everyone present, with the same two-inch wide growth highlighted in red.

“Whatever Tim’s got inside of him, we’re all infected,” Batman intones. “And have been for months.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so, I'd imagine people have a lot of questions here, given how I'm using both Pre-N52 and Rebirth stuff. So, lemme break out the list in order. 
> 
> Number one: When is this happening? Basically, imagine the Detective Comics Rebirth stuff is happening a few months after Red Robin ended. Basically all of N52 is being disregarded, with key elements from Rebirth being kept. 
> 
> Number Two: Barbara. This is...hard. On one hand, it makes absolutely zero sense for Barbara to remain stuck in a wheelchair when the Justice League has like 3 magic people who've fixed worse off the top of my head, a host of technology from the future, the actual goddamn holy grail, and other things. On the other...I absolutely despise N52 Batgirl. Barbara grew into an amazing character as Oracle, and N52 wound back the clock and essentially erased the complicated, competent woman she had become. It felt like a soulless copy of Steph's Batgirl run, which leads into my next topic, but long story short, Barbara is healed but is remaining Oracle. 
> 
> Number Three: Steph as Batgirl. She has arguably the best Batgirl run of all time, and I love her, so she's Batgirl. If you don't like Steph, uh...this is not your fic. Bye. 
> 
> Number Four: Tim is being very unfair to Damian here, but to be fair to Tim, Damian has terrorized him since the two met.


End file.
